westhamfans.org

West Ham United: Fabianski, Fredericks, Balbuena, Diop, Masuaku, Lanzini, Antonio, Noble, Snodgrass, Obiang, Arnautovic Subs: Adrian, Zabaleta, Sanchez , Chicharito, Wilshere, Ogbonna, Perez
Southampton: Gunn, Valery, Bednarek, Stephens, Bertrand, Ward-Prowse, Romelu, Højbjerg, Long, Ings, Redmond. Subs:
TBC

Saturday afternoon's match against Southampton has little relevance on paper, Saints secured their premiership status last week and Hammers, already way safe from relegation, cannot reach a Europa league seventh spot following Everton's victory against Burnley yesterday evening.

With The Hammers sitting mid table and this being the likely resting place for the 2018/2019 season, has progress been made, or should we be expecting more? We take a look over the high’s and lows and consider what we should expect in 2019/2020.

Livid Tottenham supporters have taken to social media (visit other sites to see their comments copied and pasted, we don't regurgitate such dross!) to express how sad they think Hammers fans are for celebrating their victory over Tottenham at the Daniel Levy 'It's Happened Again' Stadium. In addition to the vast majority of their supporters being in total denial over Tottenham's defeat, the usual excuses of a cluttered playing schedule were rolling out even before the final whistle of West Ham's 1-0 victory, excuses not made by Mauricio Pochettino who is a class act.

Tottenham: Lloris, Davies, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Foyth, Rose, Dier, Alli, Eriksen, Moura, Son Subs: Gazzaniga, Trippier, Wanyama, Walker-Peters, Llorente, Skipp
West Ham: Fabianski, Fredericks, Balbuena, Diop, Masuaku, Rice, Antonio, Noble, Snodgrass, Anderson, Arnautovic Subs: Adrian, Zabaleta, Obiang, Chicharito, Wilshere, Ogbonna, Perez

Whichever way you look at it West Ham United's squad is about to undergo major surgery, particularly in the striking department, an area where players don't come cheap. With Andy Carroll, Lucas Perez, Javier Hernandez and probably Marko Arnautovic all set to leave there will be a need for substantial further recruitment.

Some West Ham fans will be disappointed on hearing the news that apparent transfer target, 'veteran' striker Edin Dzeko, has indicated that he would prefer a move to Inter Milan instead of to London Stadium, however the vast majority that we have heard from indicate their extreme pleasure that the club have dodged a bullet by NOT signing the 33 year old. The Roma striker is apparently desperate to sign for Inter, and will turn down any offer from West Ham in order to push through a move to the Nerazzurri.

Much has been made of why teams just below the top six clubs of the Barclays Premier League have struggled to make 7th place their own, Everton, Leicester, Watford, Wolves and West Ham have all flirted with securing what will probably be a slot that guarantees European football next season.

West Ham: Fabianski, Balbuena, Zabaleta, Ogbonna, Masuaku, Rice, Anderson, Sndograss, Noble, Antonio, Arnautovic. Subs: Adrian, Obiang, Wilshere, Diop, Fredericks, Perez, Diangana.
Leicester: Schmeichel, Pereira, Evans, Maguire, Chilwell, Ndidi, Maddison, Albrighton, Tielemans, Gray, Vardy. Subs: Ward, Morgan, Iheanacho, Barnes, Okazaki, Mendy, Fuchs.

Bereft of the creative input that the injured Manuel Lanzini and Samir Nasri bring to the team, manager Manuel Pellegrini has been handed what many will see as a poisoned chalice in the form of a 'fit again' Jack Wilshere. It appears that the very talented but much injured former Arsenal and England midfielder will be adding to his miserable quota of four games played by featuring for the home side at some point during the match against Leicester City at the London Stadium this Saturday afternoon.